The Hospital for Diseases of the
Heart was founded in 1857 by Dr Eldridge Spratt at No. 67 Margaret Street.
It is reputed to be the first hospital in the world dedicated to
the study and
treatment of heart disease and the first to introduce
postgraduate training.

For some years Dr Spratt was the only physician as well as the secretary
and treasurer. Eventually a Committee was appointed, but turnover
of members was high, and there was often trouble between the Committee
and Dr Spratt.

In 1869 the Hospital moved to No. 83
Newman Street, just off Oxford Street.

From 1874 it moved again, this time to a fine house designed by the
Adam brothers at No. 32 Soho Square, the former home of
the naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks. The Hospital remained
there for forty years.

The Hospital Committee had by this time endured many difficulties
with Dr Spratt and, on 18th January 1875, he was asked to resign over some financial
irregularities. He did, but returned that night to remove much of the
contents of the Hospital - instruments, furniture, books, pictures, and a large quantity of lead - in a furniture van.

Following Dr Spratt's departure the running of the Hospital improved.
Out-patient sessions were held regularly, the number of
physicians on the staff having increased to four. The staff did
not confine themselves to matters of the heart: publications in the
late 19th century included 'Hints on Men and Women', The Effect of
Education on the Industrial Classes' and 'Cycling as a Cause of Heart
Disease'.

In 1910 a pathology department was opened in an iron shed, and the
X-ray department in another. The Hospital's first
electrocardiograph was purchased in 1911 though, for lack of room, it
was housed at South Kensington. Patients were taken there by cab.

Plans for a new building were mooted in 1912 and the new Hospital
at a site in Westmoreland Street was completed by 1914.

During WW1 the Hospital was one of the main centres for examination of
the hearts of recruits referred by army medical boards. 10,000
were examined.

Regular out-patient teaching and courses were first held in 1919.

In 1948 the Hospital joined the NHS. The teaching programme was
formalised as the Institute of Cardiology, which joined the British
Postgraduate Medical Federation.

It gained an international reputation during the 1960s with the rapid
development of cardiology and cardiac surgery. The first heart
transplant in the UK took place here, as well as the first successful
coronary angioplasty and coronary stent implantation in the UK.
Numerous advances in pacing and electrophysiology were developed,
along with advanced surgery for congenital heart disease.

The building was sold to Gleneagles Hospital UK in 1994 and re-opened
in 1997 as a private hospital specializing in cardiac treatment.
However, the enterprise fell into debt and University College
London Hospitals bought the building for £27m in 2001 to house
the cardiac services that were then based at the Middlesex Hospital in
Mortimer Street.

Present status (April 2008)
The National Heart Hospital, having had a little holiday from the NHS, is once again part of it.

It is now known as The Heart Hospital.

Update: June 2015

In April 2015 some services moved to the new Barts Heart Centre at St Bartholomew's Hospital.

However, cardiology clinics will continue to be held at the Hospital for patients referred to University College Hospital. Thoracic surgery will continue to be provided, while urological services will move in later in the year..

The site of the Hospital at the turn of the 20th century - No. 32 Soho Square - is now occupied by Twentieth Century House, built in 1936, and currently offices for the film distributors 20th Century Fox.

A stone plaque on the building commemorates the site of the home of Sir Joseph Banks.

The front elevation of the Hospital in Westmoreland Street with its name - The Heart Hospital - on the frieze.

The main entrance with the brass plate bearing the legend 'The Heart Hospital'.

Looking towards the north along Westmoreland Street, the Hospital is the white building on the right in the image.

Britain's
first heart transplant - and the tenth in the world - was successfully
undertaken here in 1968. The patient survived for 46 days, but finally succumbed to overwhelming infection.